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Getting Started

Introduction

The DSConnect portal provides an integrated environment of messaging, announcements, email, calendaring, groups, direct Banner access, and direct Vista access (beginning Spring 2006) to all DSC students, faculty, and staff.  This integrated environment facilitates communications between:

• Students and their classmates
• Students and faculty
• Students and staff
• Faculty and their students
• Faculty and staff

It is hoped that through the use of this portal, all students, faculty, and staff will be better informed and feel more connected to the College.

Important Dates

June 13, 2005              Banner Web access will be via DSConnect Portal exclusively.

June 17, 2005              Summer C-Session Registration is conducted via DSConnect.

June 30, 2005              DSConnect login information is mailed out to all students that have enrolled during the current academic year (Fall 2004, Spring 2005, Summer 2005).

July 18-19, 2005          Faculty and staff email (em.daltonstate.edu) migrated over to DSConnect.  Students will be given the opportunity to forward their email from their old sm.daltonstate.edu accounts over to DSConnect.

July 20, 2005               All email accounts (students, faculty, and staff) now share the same domain suffix of daltonstate.edu and are of the form user@daltonstate.edu.
 

Instructions for Access

To access DSConnect, enter the URL mydsc.daltonstate.edu in your browser’s Address field and press <Enter>.  You may also click the DSConnect link on the Dalton State homepage.

If you are prompted by a Security Alert window, click the <Yes> button to proceed.

Enter your “User Name” and “Password” in the “Secure Access Login” area in the upper left hand portion of your browser window and click <Login>.

The main opening page to DSConnect is now displayed.  Notice that the page is divided into individual windows (called channels):

• Campus Announcements – Displays announcements that are targeted to all students, faculty, and staff.
• My Calendar – Provides a link to your calendar.
• Bookmarks – Provides a convenient location for all your favorite Internet sites.
• Quick Links – Direct access to Banner.
• My E-mail Inbox – Displays the messages in your E-mail Inbox.
• Image of the Week – A new picture is displayed every week.
• Personal Announcements – Displays announcements targeted to you or any group you are a member of.
• My Headlines – Quick links to top news stories.

Also notice the buttons in the upper-right-hand corner of each channel.  Those channels with a grayed-out “X” button cannot be removed.  Why is that a good idea?

Groups

The Groups feature of DSConnect provides a means for groups of students, faculty, and staff to come together electronically for collaboration, and the sharing of information and ideas.

The initial groups that will be available Fall 2005 are:

Here’s a sample of how “Groups” works:

You may access the groups you are a member of any time by clicking the “Groups” icon in the upper right hand corner of the DSConnect main page.  The above screen shot shows that I am currently only a member of the OCIS group.

When I click on the OCIS group link, the Group Homepage for the OCIS group is displayed.  From here I can:

• View all announcements sent to this group.
• View news related to the group.
• View/download photos owned by the group.
• Access links specific to the group.
• Access/download files owned by the group.
• Post and view messages of the group.
• View the group’s calendar.
• Email members of the group (all or some).
• Group chat room.
• View group membership.

The following group functions are limited to the group leader or their designees:

• Send announcements to the group.
• Post news related to the group.
• Post group files, photos, and links owned by the group.
• Update and maintain the group’s calendar.

E-mail             *** Not functional until July 20, 2005 ***

Students: Beginning July 20, 2005 until the end of Spring Semester 2006, students may continue to access their old email (user@sm.daltonstate.edu) just as they always have.  During this time, they may forward any messages they wish to keep to their new address (user@daltonstate.edu).  Also during this time, any messages sent to their old email address will automatically be forwarded to their new address.  At the end of Spring Semester 2006, all old student email accounts (with the sm.daltonstate.edu suffix) will cease to exist.

Faculty and staff: email will be converted to DSConnect July 18-19, 2005.  Beginning July 20, 2005 through the end of Spring Semester 2006, any messages sent to the old address (user@daltonstate.edu) will automatically be forwarded to the new address (user@daltonstate.edu).

You may access the messages in your inbox directly from the DSConnect homepage.  If you wish to access your folders, address books, and other features of the e-mail program, just click the “e-mail” icon in the upper right hand corner of the homepage.

The e-mail component of DSConnect is a full-featured customizable e-mail program.  As you would expect, you can (not an exhaustive list):

• Compose/send email to individuals or groups.
• Save draft copies of messages you are composing.  This is a recommended practice because if you allow the portal to be idle for more than 1 hour, you will automatically logged out and any unsaved unsent messages will be lost.
• Reply and forward
• Organize your messages into folders.
• Maintain an address book.
• Configure the default behavior of the program and how your messages are displayed.

Calendars

When you click the “calendar” icon in the upper right hand corner of the homepage the above calendar window is displayed.  Notice that the “View” tab at the upper left hand portion of the screen is highlighted.  From this screen you can view your calendar(s) in overview, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and comparison modes.

In the upper right hand portion of the screen you may select (drop-down select box) which calendar or set of calendars to view.  By default, each user will have a personal calendar, a calendar for each group they are a member of, and a calendar for each course they are currently enrolled in.

Try exploring the other calendar tabs: